By: Steve Wilmot
Edgerton, Ohio
The body of missionary David Livingstone was buried in England where he was born, but his heart was buried in the Africa he loved.
At the foot of a tall tree in a small African village the natives dug a hole and placed the heart of this man who they loved and respected.
If your heart were to be buried in the place you love most, where would it be? In your pocketbook? At the office? In a health food store or gym? At Walmart or Kohls?
It’s a question you need to consider. In Matthew 19 we meet a man who assured Jesus he was a good man, but he still felt something was missing. He approached Jesus to find out what he needed to do to have eternal life. In answer, Jesus drops this bomb:
“If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me” (Matthew 19.22).
Surely there must be some mistake. Sell everything? Why would Jesus go there? The answer is that Jesus went straight for what the man loved most — his great wealth and the security, prestige and friends that came with it. It’s what his heart treasured most.
Like this man, we find it difficult to give up our treasured possessions. We balk at letting go of those people or things even though God presents us with a far better offer.
If you met Jesus and asked him the question the man asked, how would Jesus fill in the blank in his response to you: “If you want to be perfect, go, give up ____________, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me”?
And are you willing to lay your treasure down? That’s the big question, isn’t it?
God is committed to help you identify what stands above him in your affections and devotion so you can get it out of the way. Like when God asked Abraham to sacrifice his son, Isaac. The son of the promise. The miracle child.
God wanted Abraham to wrestle with what he treasured most. Him or someone else? It was a gut-wrenching soul search, but it was necessary for Abraham. As it is for us.
Recall a week before Jesus’ crucifixion, Mary anointed him with a pint of expensive perfume worth nearly a year’s wages! (What that would be if you were Mary?) The perfume represented Mary’s greatest earthly treasure, the best she had to offer Jesus.
But there’s more to it than the monetary cost to Mary. As far as we know, Mary wasn’t married, and her mother and father were no longer living. So if the opportunity for marriage ever presented itself, there was no father to pay the dowry.
Mary’s jar of perfume was probably her entire dowry she saved up over the years. It represented her future, holding every hope and dream she’d ever had. Yet she treasured Jesus more and poured it all out on him without hesitation or evaluation.
I don’t believe she ever regretted her choice because she proved Greater Treasure than what she had stored in the jar.
You can too if you’ll unclench your death grip on those things you treasure so you can find the Greatest Treasure ever offered.
The Sidewalk Prophets sing of facing the same choice as the man who came to Jesus, Abraham, and Mary:
If I saw You on the street
And You said come and follow Me
But I had to give up everything
All I once held dear and all my dreams
Would I love You enough to let go?
Or would my love run dry
When You asked for my life?
Then they conclude:
If You’re all You claim to be
Then I’m not losing anything
You don’t lose when you put your human relationships and your earthly treasure in their proper place so you can follow Jesus. Your gain far outweighs anything you think you’re losing.
Friend, what are you going to decide concerning your treasure: it or Jesus?
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Steve Wilmot is a former Edgerton, Ohio area pastor who now seeks “to still bear fruit in old age” through writing. He is the author of seven books designed to assist believers to make steady progress on their spiritual journey.
